Let’s talk about an American English phrase that many people use. First, let’s listen to today’s conversation. Listen carefully.

You can’t judge a book by its cover
Janet: Oh boy! We are definitely lost. We need to ask someone quickly for directions. How about that man?
Rob: Wait! You mean that guy with big muscles and tattoos? No way! He looks scary.
Janet: Don’t say that. You can’t judge someone by how they look. It should be fine.
Rob: Oh fine!
(A few minutes later)
Rob: Ok! Got the directions! You know what? He was way nicer than I thought he would be, so I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Janet: See, I told you!

You can’t judge a book by its cover
Janet: Oh boy! We are definitely lost. We need to ask someone quickly for directions. How about that man?
Rob: Wait! You mean that guy with big muscles and tattoos? No way! He looks scary.
Janet: Don’t say that. You can’t judge someone by how they look. It should be fine.
Rob: Oh fine!
(A few minutes later)
Rob: Ok! Got the directions! You know what? He was way nicer than I thought he would be, so I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Janet: See, I told you!

오늘의 영어표현은 You can’t judge a book by its cover입니다. This means that you shouldn’t judge the quality of character or form an opinion on someone or something based purely on what you see on the surface. You can’t judge a book by its cover은 ‘겉 모습으로 속을 판단하지 말라’라는 뜻입니다. 사람들이 책을 고를 때, 표지 그림이나 제목만으로 결정하기도 합니다. 그런데 표지만 보아서는 재미없을 것 같은 책이 오히려 더 흥미로운 이야기를 담고 있을 수도 있는데요. 여기에서 ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover 겉을 보고 속을 판단하지 말라’라는 표현이 생긴 것입니다. 예를 한번 들어볼까요? 키가 커서 농구를 잘할 것 같다고 생각했는데 그렇지 않을 때, “I should have not judged a book by its cover, as you are tall. 네가 키가 크다고 농구를 잘할 것으로 생각하지 말았어야 하는데.”라고 말할 수 있습니다. Now we’ll listen to this conversation for the last time. Listen carefully.

You can’t judge a book by its cover
Janet: Oh boy! We are definitely lost. We need to ask someone quickly for directions. How about that man?
Rob: Wait! You mean that guy with big muscles and tattoos? No way! He looks scary.
Janet: Don’t say that. You can’t judge someone by how they look. It should be fine.
Rob: Oh fine!
(A few minutes later)
Rob: Ok! Got the directions! You know what? He was way nicer than I thought he would be, so I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Janet: See, I told you!